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Cramer: 3 Things Needed to Kill a Cult

Editor's Note: This article was originally published at 3:21 p.m. EDT on Real Money on Aug. 5. To see Jim Cramer's latest commentary as it's published, sign up for a free trial of Real Money.

NEW YORK (Real Money) -- What does it take to stop a cult stock? What can reverse the price of Tesla or Netflix or Amazon.com?

First, it's harder than you think. These are stocks backed by products everyone loves. Last week I took a hard look at the new BMW electric car, the one that goes 100 miles on one tank, and I said it had none of the panache of the 180 miles-per-tank that the Tesla has. The fact that BMW's being branded as a city car leaves me cold, too. How many chargers are there in the city? The Tesla's a driving wonder. It is without a doubt the most sought-after car I have ever seen. Yet there are tons of nonbelievers everywhere.

When I was at the Delivering Alpha conference, a young buck kind of guy comes up to me and says he's just kiting, hasn't paid the fee for Delivering Alpha, he just wanted to see me about a job prospect. Some people remain under the delusion that I have a lot of jobs to give as I did a decade ago.

But I played along, even as I felt proprietary enough to almost want him thrown out, and I said, "give me your best idea." He said, "Short Tesla." First, I asked why. He said the sales numbers are inflated. I asked him whether he had ever tried to get one? He said, "No." I urged him to go to the Short Hills Mall dealership and try to get on the waiting list. He didn't know there was a dealer or a waiting list. Unimpressive. Then I asked him, "Have you ever driven one?" He said, "No." I was wide-eyed and said, "Why do you insult me with your lack of homework?" I am as miserable to arrogant professionals as I am nice to unsophisticated amateurs.

So he said that it was only a matter of time until the novelty wore off. I asked, "Do you know how many Teslas have been sold in Europe?" He had no idea. I said, "How about two? Is that novelty about to wear off?"